May The World Live In
Peace

Email from Old Fangak 2013-01-29

This is an email from Dr. Jill Seaman sent from her clinic in Old
Fangak, South Sudan

Guess what!

The northern Jonglei disarmament has been a major success!

Today we received 4 spear wounded youth - at least 3 others still in
the bush. No one killed. You can not imagine what that means - no one
killed means none of my staff have to run - as revenge killings target
the "biggest" of the relatives of the "killer" which
usually meant my staff. It means no huge AK 47 injuries. It means no
worries about sudden fliying bullets!

Just downriver they held an initiation - the boys became men by getting
the traditional scarring on the forehead. They lie down and one by one
the get a spear cut from midline to ear line down to the skull 6 times
on the right and 6 times on the left - meeting in the middle. They lie
there without moving - and until the blood dries. They spend about 7
days inside a hut healing without washing these wounds. Then they emerge
as men. And then pick up their spears and scar themselves even more.
Really waco but so much better than guns.

And tonight all them stray men are off the hospital compound and ALL
the gates on Ann's lovely fence are locked with the watchman having
a key.

"I like to believe that people, in the long run, are going to do more
to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace
so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and
let them have it."